Outrage As Gold Medallist Snubbed While Jenneke Makes $$$

Eagle-eyed Olympic observers have been drawing comparisons between Aussie athletes Michelle “Jiggling” Jenneke and Catherine Skinner after the huge difference in their road to the Games was realised.

Skinner quietly took home our third gold medal in Rio last week when she smashed the trap shooting event – and the 26-year-old, from the tiny rural town of Mansfield, Victoria, did it with no official sponsor.

Jenneke, on the other hand, is worth an estimated $3 million, and is the poster girl for Coca Cola’s advertising campaign in Rio.

And when we say poster girl, we mean it quite literally; the NSW-born athlete is beaming from billboards all over Rio.

But, it’s been pointed out, the 23-year-old hurdler has never made it further than a semi-final stage of any major championship.

And that includes at this year’s Olympics; while the now-infamous warm-up dance Jenneke shot to fame for was once again on display as she lined up for the 100m hurdle on Tuesday, the ex-Sports Illustrated model came in sixth place, missing out on a spot in the final.

Skinner, the Daily Mail reports, is no stranger to medals, cleaning up at a number of World Cup and Summer Universiade events.

Whether the Olympic gold medallist lands a sponsorship deal now following her under-the-radar performance last week remains to be seen, but one thing that cannot be denied is that Michelle Jenneke has turned a cheeky dance move into a multi-million dollar brand.